Mouthpiece



G. W. WILLIAMS.

MOUTHPIECE. d

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, |920.

'1 ,360,844. I Panted Nov. 30, 1920.

UNITI-:os'ra'rssr GEORGE W. WILLIAMS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MOUTHPIECE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

Application filed VJuly 2, 1920. Serial No. 393,502.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. WILLIAMS,

a citizen of the United States of America, residing at New York city, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mouthpieces, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to a self-closing mouth piece, and particularly to a mouth piece for bags, or other containers, for tobacco or other comminuted or granular material, and the object of my invention is'to provide a self-closing mouth piece through which the material may be readily dispensed, but normally serving to retain the material in the container. The present invention constitutes an improvement upon the construction shown in my prior' Patent No. 744,846, dated November 9.4, 1903.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a broken side elevation of a tobacco bag showing my improved mouth piece applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the mouth piece detached;

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan thereof;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4, Fig. 5; Fig. 5 is a plan view of the mouth piece opened for dispensing the material; and

F ig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6, Fig. 2.

In the form here shown the present mouth piece comprises a conical neck 7 ellipsoidal in cross section, having at its larger end a flange 8 adapted to lie within the discharge opening of the bag 9. At its opposite end the neck 7 has a pair of lips 10, the meeting faces 11 and l2 of which are straight and of such thickness and contour that innormal position they form a closure for the mouth piece. As will be noted, the lips 10 taper inVv thickness toward their opposite ends, which are formed on an angle indicated at 13 in Fig. 4 to permit the lips to close completely at the ends of the opening in the normal position of the mouth piece.

On opposite sides of the neck are ribs 14,'

preferablyl formed integral with the neck and undercut at 15 at the ends which approach the flange 8. These ribs have the double function of retaining the mouth piece in theV discharge opening of the bag, and second of assisting in effecting the automatic closure of the mouth piece after it has been opened. As will be seen in Fig. 4, the draw string 16 at the mouth of the bag 9 is engaged beneath the ribs 14, thus holding the mouth piece in position. If there 1s a surplus length of the draw string, it may be wound around the neck piece 7 and forced beneath the ribs 14, the latter serving to retain the excess length of the string in out of the way position. The present construction greatly facilitates the adjustment of the mouth piece in the discharge opening of the bag. It is merely necessary to insert the flange S of the mouth piecev in the opening while the latter is wide open, and then pull the draw string to close the bag opening. Under ordinary circumstances this closes the opening with the bag in the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 With the margins of the opening resting on the ribs 14. To adjust the draw string beneath the ribs it is merely necessary to tilt the mouth piece first in one direction and then in the other, thereby lifting the ribs 15 above the bag mouth. If there is any slack in the draw string it may now be pulled up and the mouth closed tightly around the neck of the mouth piece as indicated in full lines in Fig. 4. The secondary function or" the ribs 14 in assisting the closure of the bag mouth is readily understood. Vhen the neck 7 is deformed by pressure at its opposite ends to separate the lips in the manner indicated in Fig. 5, the sides of the bag neck are opened outwardly, thus bringing the lower ends 17 of the ribs against the bag mouth at a point where it is supported by the flange 8 of the mouth piece. The ribs thus act as resilient struts which assist the normal resiliency of the neck 7 in returning lthe lips 1() to closed position after deforma'- tion. f

It will of course be understood that additional ribs may be supplied at the ends of the neck 7 it desired, but I have shown only side ribs since these are suiiicient under ordinary circumstances. I have shown the flange S separate from the neck 7, but it is perfectly possible, in fact I prefer, to have Vthe entire mouth piece molded in a single operation. The particular form of the ribsv 14 may be varied, and the construction as a. whole is subject to modification in various ways without departing from what I claim as my invention.

1. A self-closing mouth piece of the type described comprising a pair of flexible lips meeting on their opposed faces, a flexible tubein extension of said lips, flange means on the tube adapted to enter the discharge Vmouth of an associated container, and longitudinal ribs on the neck and spaced yfrom the flange to accommodate the mouth of said container and to retain the mouth piece 'in position.

2. A self-closing mouth-piece of the type described comprising a pair of flexible Vlips meeting on their opposed faces, a flexible tube in'textension of said lips, fia-nge means on the tube adapted to enter the discharge L mouth of an associated container, and lon 'V gitudinal ribs'on the neck and spaced from the flange toA accommodate the mouth of said container and to retain the mouth piece inV positioin'said ribs being adapted to bear at their flange ends against the container to form struts Which assist in maintaining the' from the flange to accommodate the mouth l of said container and to retain Ythe mouth piece in position. i

Y s. A'self-closingrmouth piece of the type described comprising a pairV of flexible lips meeting on their opposed faces, a flexible tube in extension of said lips, flange means on the tube adapted to enter the discharge mouth of an associated container, and lon- Y Vgitudinal ribs integral With said neck and 1 spaced from the flange to accommodate the mouth of said container and to retain the mouth piece in position.

5. A self-closingmouth piece ofthe type described comprising a pair of flexible'lips meeting on'their opposed faces, a flexible tube in extension of saidY lips, flange means V on the tube adapted to enter the discharge mouth of an associated container, and longitudinal ribs on the neck and spaced from the flange to accommodate the mouth of said' Vcontainer and toret-ain the mouth piece in position, said ribs being arranged on opposite sides of the neck of the mouth piece. Y

6. A. self-closing month piece of the type described comprising a pair of flexible lips meeting on their opposed faces, a flexible tube in extension of said lips, flange means on the. tube adapted to enter the discharge mouth of an associated container, and longitudinal ribson the neck and spaced from the flange to accommodate the mouth of said container and to retain themout'h piece in position, said'ribs tapering outwardly from the lips toward the flange. Y

'7. A self-'closing mouth piece of the type described comprising a pair ofrflexible Vlips meeting on their opposed'facesfa flexible tube in extension of said lips, flange means on the tube adapted to enter the discharge mouth ofan associated container, and longitudinal ribs on `tliefneck and spaced from the flange to accommodate the Vmouth of said container and to retain the mouthpiece in position, said ribs beingundercut at the endsthereof adjacent said flange.

In testimony whereof-I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE W.V WILLIAMS, c 

